


Deathbringer

by PhantomPhan16, VicenteValtieri



Series: Role Playing Fanfiction [10]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Assassin AU, M/M, functionism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-16 02:45:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12333870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomPhan16/pseuds/PhantomPhan16, https://archiveofourown.org/users/VicenteValtieri/pseuds/VicenteValtieri
Summary: When Megatron helps a Triple-Changer prisoner he gets pulled down a path he never expected to walk. Sentinel's illegitimate child, the Twelve, the Rebellion, and a single mech at the heart of it all to aid them as the Senate and Prime are destroyed. Deathbringer must be found or all will suffer under the Council.





	1. Megatron

At the end of the third quarter of the cycle, Megatron was where he normally was when the changes started: At his small table in his equally small quarters. A miner didn’t need too much space, no matter his hobby. As a result, he was one of the only miners awake when the tremor hit.

He frowned. That was odd. There shouldn't be any work at this time.

Getting up, he shut his datapad down on his most recent sonnet.

He headed out to find who was working so late and why.

A guard met him at the end of the living quarters. "Go back to your berth, Megatron."

"But no one should be working at this time," he protested.

"It's not work, it's just some minor tremors. Go back to berth."

He hesitated. These felt tremors from work not natural shaking. "Do not make us escort you." "Very well," he relented.

The tremors continued until halfway through the first quarter, when the miners were waking and getting their rations to start the day.

Megatron said nothing about them, but judging from a few talking quietly he wasn't the only one who had felt them, at least of the few who had been awake.

The first prisoners- assigned to hard labor- appeared that day. Grey painted mechs with numbers instead of names.

The prisoners passed by, and Megatron shook his helm. Some of this looked half snuffed if he was being honest.

"Prisoners?" One of the other miners approached Megatron. "This isn't good, Megatron."

"I know."

"What is the Senate doing? This can't be legal. Next they'll shift us all out and we'll be out of work. I can't lose this position: My Intended is with spark."

Megatron sighed and approached a nearby guard.

"What is it, miner?" The guard turned to look at him.

"What's going on? Why are prisoners being brought in to do our jobs?"

"Energon demand has gone up, so we need more workers. No one is going to lose their jobs, the Council has promised that."

One prisoner, a winged Triple-Changer, looking pathetic and like he was halfway to the afterlife, fell, tripping a few others behind him.

Megatron watched as a guard wrenched him back to his pedes and shook his helm. "Do you have to be so rough? How long does he have left on his sentence?"

"A decacycle, but he won't last that long." The guard muttered, pushing him back in line. "Come on, you glitches, back into place."

His words seemed proven right at the small Triple couldn't keep upright he was so weak, falling again, though he tried in vain to catch himself.

"He needs an extra ration." Megatron told the guard.

"Rest too," chimed in an older miner nearby, watching the young prisoner with pitying optics.

"I don't have the resources for that." He replied, snappishly. He didn't seem a bad sort, just in a bad position. "There isn't a spare berth or spare energon. Now get back to work."

"Let me tend to him," Megatron offered.

The guard sighed and pinched his nasal vent. "Fine. But if the Council hears about this and I get axed, I'm telling them I was coerced. Get him out of my sight."

Megatron gently picked up the Triple and carried him away. The little mech stared up at him with blank, ocean blue optics.

Megatron laid him on his berth. "Rest easy. You're going to be all right."

He didn't speak, he just... stared,... broken.

Megatron squeezed his servo and returned to his work.

When his shift was over he returned to find the Triple asleep in a fetal position, yet a restlessness hung about him, like the slightest touch or noise would wake him. His expression was horrible, one of anguish and terror, even in sleep.

Megatron laid a servo on his wing, holding a cube of energon in his other servo. He needed the fuel to survive his sentence.

The small mech jerked, and the miner was amazed he didn't scream, though his mouth opened like he was going to.

Megatron spoke soothingly. "You're all right. I brought you some energon."

He had headfins that reminded him of a turbofox's ears in the way they moved and stood up on his helm. He hesitantly took the cube.

"It's okay. Drink it all." Megatron sat beside the berth, making sure he finished it.

He drained the cube desperately. "What's your name?" He stared at the miner then tapped his throat.

The Functionists must have removed his vocalizer. "Oh, I see." Megatron stated for something to say. "You'll get it back when you're released, then

The Triple gave him a look of disbelief then slowly settled back down, clearly fearing he would be made to rise.

"My name is Megatron. Your guard gave me leave to take care of you. You will see the end of your sentence."

The little mech began to use sign language. *After ten vorns I don't believe it.*

Megatron could only pick out one word in three, but he got the gist. "What? Ten vorns? What could you have possibly done to earn that sentence?"

*I stole some energon to survive.*

"Ten vorns for a petty theft? That's ridiculous!"

*My name is... Cas,*

"Cas? That's a pretty name. Cas, you're going to see freedom again, I promise."

He shook his helm.

Megatron nodded, firmly. "I promise, and I always keep my promises."

*For my Creator I can never be free. I am... illegitimate.*

"That's no excuse for being badly treated. I know some people who owe me a few favors. I'll help you."

Cas met his gaze. *Not when my Creator... is Sentinel.*

Megatron was struck dumb.

*The Council wishes him to never know.*

Megatron set his jaw. "You will be free, Cas. I'll find a way."

*We'll see.* He settled down, exhausted still from his weakened frame. Megatron thought as he slipped into recharge. The son of Sentinel Prime and a Seeker, and from what he understood Sentinel's ONLY offspring as well.

No wonder the Council wanted him out of the way and were unwilling to kill him.

And it seemed that Sentinel himself simply had no idea. Megatron nearly smirked. The Prime would probably snuff half the Council himself if ever found out.

Too bad he couldn't just send a message to the Prime himself. It would be so much simpler.

There had to be a way, and he would find it, if only to see the Prime rip into the Council. Sentinel was a Functionist, but he was not inherently cruel either.

Megatron watched over Cas through the last two quarters.

The little Triple woke and slowly sat up. His wings drooped, his frame still weak.

"Rest." Megatron gently pressed him back down. "Shh... I'll be back later."

Cas settled back down and waited.

Megatron and the other miners worked alongside the prisoners. Unsurprisingly, those that were allowed to speak were political prisoners, sent to hard labor by the Council. Megatron was beginning to think that the Senate had little to do with this new move.

That was worrying. The goverment, while not that good in his personal opinion, did not to need to be divided, but he feared the Council getting out of servo.

Religion should have as little to do with governmental policy as possible.

Still he knew there was little he could do, at least right now. Right now if he stepped out of line he knew that Cas would take the punishment instead, and he couldn't let that happen.

The end of the decacycle approached and he brought Cas, a little stronger, a little better, out to where the other prisoners were being disembarked. It was a release day for some of them.

Cas still did not believe he would be freed or repaired due to his taken vocalizer.

Megatron accompanied him down. It was his day off, he could accompany a friend.

A guard approached them.

"These are your belongings." He handed Cas an envelope. "And you're free to go."

Cas looked stunned then suspicious, and Megatron supposed he really couldn't blame him.

"What about his vocalizer? It was removed when he was incarcerated."

The guard looked confused and read through a file again. "... There's no record of that."

"Well someone removed it, because it's gone."

"It wasn't the prison authorities, so there's nothing we can do for you." He reached over to a pamphlet. "Here, prisoners lose parts all the time: There's a non-profit that can help."

Cas nodded then thanked Megatron for his kindness.

"It's no problem. I'll walk you to the medic's."

The clinic was fairly empty when they arrived with just a few mechs waiting, including a Seeker. The Seeker had purple paint offset by black and golden optics. Cas's own optics widened, and the dark Seeker turned to them, spotting Cas.

"Cas!" He exclaimed and rushed to him, throwing his arms around him. "I was looking for you!"

Cas nestled into him, clinging to him. Looking between them Megatron could see the resemblance.

"Hello, are you Cas's Carrier?" He questioned.

"Yes, I am Nightwing, and you are?"

"Megatron. I work in the mine where Cas was stationed."

"Oh, my Sparkling,..."

Megatron patted his shoulder. "He's here now, and now that he's back with his family, I'll take my leave. Good luck, Cas."

Cas moved away from Nightwing and kissed the miner's cheekplate in thanks.

Suddenly, the only other mech in the clinic stood up and shot Nightwing three times in the back.

Megatron yelled, Cas let out a soundless scream, and Nightwing crumpled, servo stretched out to his son. "R.... un," he choked before going still.

Megatron grabbed Cas by the arm and dragged him out of the clinic, away from the assassin. They fled into Iacon's ghetto, pursued by Council guardsmen.

A wrong turn had them cornered. Megatron put himself between the guards and Cas. Then mechs of every frame leaped upon the guards from above.

It was a short, brutal battle. At the end of it, a red and gold Praxian stood up from the mess and approached them. "If you were being chased by them, you're as likely to be a friend as any. What are your names?"

"I'm Megatron, and this is Cas. Someone... someone just murdered his Carrier in a clinic, and the guards came after us."

"Call me Rodimus, and come with us. Enemy of the Council is a friend of ours."

"Thank you." Megatron had to carry Cas as the poor thing collapsed in tears and could not summon the strength to rise as he heaved silent sobs.

They led them to an abandoned building with a basement where they had set up their base. A Seeker medic and one from Iacon looked the party and Cas over.

"His vocalizer was removed. A prisoner?" Megatron nodded. "Yes, I met him a decacycle ago when he and others were brought to the mine where I worked. He was half dead at the time so I convinced the guard to let me tend to him. His vocalizer was removed when he was incarcerated ten vorns ago."

"Ten vorns? What in Primus's name did he do?"

Megatron looked him, and Cas nodded. *Tell them.* "He stole energon to survive, but to the Council his real crime is something he can't control. He is Sentinel Prime's illegitimate son."

Ratchet stiffened, taking in an in-vent. "The Council is populated by monsters."

The Seeker hissed. "Agreed. Not to worry, we can fix you up," he told Cas.

"We'll have to get the part from storage. I'll be right back." Ratchet explained.

Megatron gently rubbed Cas's wings soothingly, trying to comfort him as best he could.

Cas fluttered his wings and stared up at the miner. He looked lost and hopeless, like he couldn't see past the moment.

The big mech hugged him, trying to help the poor thing ground himself.

Cas hugged him back, crying silently.

Pharma croooned and sang a soft, comforting song in Seeker as they waited for Ratchet.

Ratchet returned with the part. "All right, little one, let's get you put back together."

The Triple wiped his optics and nodded. He wanted to make noise, to sob aloud, to scream out on his pain and sorrow. It would hopefully be at least a little cathartic.

The medics carefully replaced the vocalizer inside of Cas's neck. "There we are. Try it out."

"Carrier." Megatron stepped forward to be there if Cas needed someone to cry on again.

Cas gripped him hard and sobbed aloud, shrieking.

He bawled his Spark out and howled for the Carrier he could never get back.

Megatron rocked him, shushing softly.

He finally cried himself to sleep, slumped against the tank.

Rodimus approached slowly. "We have berths this way."

"Thank you." Pharma spoke up. "Give them a room to share, Rodimus. It will be best for Cas right now to be with someone he trusts."

Rodimus nodded. "Agreed, Pharma. Come on, Megatron."

He followed the Praxian to a room. It was moderately sized, but it could hold him and Cas well, and the berths were large enough for him to be comfortable.

He laid Cas on one of them and relaxed on the other.

After Cas woke they were introduced to others. The resistance was of mechs and femmes of all frames, but they were disorganized at the best of times, though they still somehow managed to get things done. Megatron secretly thought it was because Ratchet kept everyone in line, but Phrama agreed when he joked about it. Still Ratchet wasn't a true leader, so he could really only do so much.

"What we need is someone to unite us." Pharma admitted. "I suggested it to my aeriemate, but he had his own business at the time and I haven't seen him since."

Megatron and Cas began working with them, and slowly Megatron began to help them get organized even as he and Cas grew closer.

Then, when they were just making progress, the Council moved against the Senate.

The Senate was over turned, and the Council assumed full power.

The resistance, having been prepared for such a move, attempted to help the Senate Guard, but they were overpowered and the Council- led by Six-of-Twelve broke through.

Sentinel was on his own, cut off by several Council Guards when Six of Twelve attacked the Prime from behind. Cas screeched and flew towards them.

Six-of-Twelve knocked the Prime to his knees and ripped into his chestplates, taking the Matrix.

A Seeker scream came from his left where a group of the resistance was fighting.

Six-of-Twelve looked up in time to smack Cas aside before gliding out. "We're done here."

Cas rolled a ways and lay still a moment. Once his got his bearings he scrambled to Sentinel's side.

"Who... are you?"

Cas cradled the slowly drying Prime. "I am Cas." "You look... like Night... wing." "He is... was my Carrier,... and you are a my Creator.”

"I... have a son? I never... knew." He reached up to stroke his faceplates.

Cas nuzzled into his touch, hoping to comfort both himself and Sentinel. "The Council didn't want you to know because of my frame and Seeker blood."

"I'm... sorry. When Nightwing left... I thought it was because we fought..."

"He did, but he wanted to come back. The Council threatened him. He told me this when I was old enough to know. When I had to steal energon to survive the Council had an excuse to make me disappear and never be able to find and tell you myself."

"I'm... sorry. Should have, looked for you..." Sentinel coughed. "Need... Need help..."

"Ratchet! Pharma!" He coughed again, gasping in pain. Cas crooned to him, and gently nuzzled his face. "Hold on, Creator."

Sentinel coughed with his vents and reached into his subspace. "Death... bringer..." He whispered to the triple-changer. "Death..."

He managed to withdraw a single picture from his subspace. "Creator." Sentinel kissed his Sparkling's cheekplate as the Triple leaned in to hear him better, using the last of his strength to do this one action that he should have been able to do for his son's whole life but had been denied by the Council that had claimed his life.

"I... love you..." He murmured and slowly the color leeched from his plating.

"I love you, too," Cas choked around his tears, just quick enough for Sentinel hear as his spark went out. Megatron, Ratchet, Pharma, and some others reached them to find Cas cradled Sentinel's grey frame, sobbing over the fallen Prime with Sparkling keens occasionally breaking the sobs, the sound a little one made to call for their parents.

Megatron gently placed a servo on his wings. "Cas, we have to go."

"Don't leave him here, Megatron, please," Cas wept.

"All right, but we have to go now." Megatron grabbed Sentinel and tossed him over his shoulder.

Pharma came around Cas and hugged him, crooning softly in comforting Seeker as he led him away.

The resistance disappeared back into the underground to grieve and plan.

Sentinel was laid to rest, and Cas disappeared to mourn, devastated. If they had been quicker or stronger his Creator might have survived, might have gotten to know him."

Before he disappeared, he handed Megatron the picture. "Creator... thought this was important. He said, said it was Deathbringer."

Megatron and several others poured over the image. A convoy and a Seeker. A Seeker who somewhat resembled Cas and Nightwing, Megatron noticed.

"Hmm. Really pretty Seeker." Rodimus commented.

"Back off. He's the convoy's. See? They have their arms around each other, look at the way the shoulders are positioned." He pointed out. "Deathbringer... who's that?"

"Geez, Jazz, just stating a fact." Pharma came over from checking on Cas. "Fact of wha- Starscream?!"

"Starscream? You know this mech?" Megatron asked Pharma.

"He is my aeriemate."

"Does the word Deathbringer mean anything to you?"

"He was an assassin, one of Sentinel's best." Pharma took the picture. "Why?"

"Sentinel gave this picture to Cas and mentioned Deathbringer. Perhaps he thought Starscream could help us."

"Starscream can't be the Deathbringer..." Pharma shook his helm. "Does he look like a Seeker who could kill? But the convoy... I never met Starscream's conjux. Maybe that's him."

So if we find Starscream we find him. Any idea how or where to find him?"

"Remember that business I told you Starscream had? He left Cybertron vorns ago: It was off-world. We were having problems with the Black Block Consortia. He might have accompanied his conjux to take care of them."

"So in other words.... we have no idea where they are or where to start?"

"Well, the spaceport." Pharma suggested.

"Any other family we can talk to that might know?"

"Not really. It was just us by the end. He had a slap-down, drag-out fight with his Creators and burned the bridges."

"Why not trace the convoy?" Rodimus questioned. "He would stand out in a crowd: Look how tall he is. Someone has to remember him."

Ratchet wandered over. "Any idas?" "We need to look for this convoy," Jazz said. Ratchet swore. "What?" "Orion Pax, he was a dockworker and friend of mine."

"Just a dockworker? Did he ever have odd business out of town?"

"Yeah, actually. He was a bit of a wanderer."

"We need to find him." "Why?"

"He's the Deathbringer." Megatron knew Ratchet knew the name, because he stiffened. "And Sentinel thinks he can help us take the Council out."

"You found him?" They all turned as Cas's voice. The little Triple looked awful, but he came over to them, and Megatron moved over so he could sit down.

"We know who he is." Megatron explained.

Cas studied the picture. "The Seeker. He looks... like Carrier."

"He resembled his Carrier strongly." Pharma muttered. "But he hated Primes. It's shocking he took up with a Convoy."

"Who's his Carrier?" Cas asked, ignoring the part about Primes.

"Seeker called Nightwing, my Creator's brother." Pharma explained.

Cas and Megatron gasped. "What's wrong?" "Nightwing... was my Carrier."

Pharma's optics went wide. "When were you born?"

"Five-Hundred vorns ago."

"That would coincide with Starscream's falling out with Nightwing." Pharma nodded. "Who wants to bet learning he was carrying for Sentinel was the reason?" He sighed, putting an arm around Cas. "Well, hello, Cousin."

The little triple purred. "Hello."

Pharma kissed his helm. "Let's see if we can't find our last family member. I'm going to talk to some friends at the spaceport."

"May I go with you?"

"Of course. Come on, let's go. It's been a long time, we need to get started."

"Wait. There's a name on the back of the picture." Megatron pointed out, showing them. "The Slender Lily."

"Does that mean anything to you, Pharma?"

"It sounds like the name of a spaceship to me." Pharma snorted. "And like Starscream's nickname he told me his conjux used."

"It's something to look into. Do you want any of us to go with you?"

"Too large of a party and we'll stand out." Pharma warned. "We have three big clues already. If there is information out there, we should find it."

"Cas and I will be all right. Seekers are common at the spaceport." "All right Be careful," Megatron said. "We will. Come on, Cas." He kissed Megatron's cheekplate and followed Pharma out.

Pharma smirked. "So... how much do you like our fearless leader?"

"What?"

"Oh, I get the appeal. Big shouldered-tank. I wish I could find one as sensitive as Megs."

"It... it's not like that," he said, his faceplate heating.

"Oh, maybe it's not the sensitivity, maybe it's the... other benefits. Let me tell you, tanks are amazing in berth. They can go for klickcycles." Pharma teased. "Or do you know that already?"

"Huh?!NonononoImeanit'snotthatheisn'thandsomeoranythingheishe'sgorgeousbutImeanhe'smyfriendeventhroughhe'sreallysweetandkindandIdowonderaboutitsometimes... uhhh...." 

Pharma laughed.

“Please don't tell him!"

"I won't. You have to do that yourself. For what it's worth, I think he likes you too."

"Really?" "Yes." Cas smiled then sighed. "What should I do? I've never... been interested in someone before."

"Never? Well, I would feel him out a little, maybe talk about interests, ask him to fuel with you."

"Okay. No, Carrier kept me sheltered because of the Council."

"I see. Yeah, that's what I would probably do." Pharma sighed. "Maybe you should try giving him a gift. Something he'd like."

"Oh... um..."

"A new datapad for his poetry?"

He perked up a bit. "He'd like that." "We can shop while we're out, too. Come on, lets have a little fun while we can, too." Cas giggled and nuzzled his new found family.

The spaceport was a maze of offices, ships, and what amounted to a flea market laid out everywhere.

They held each other's servos to keep from getting separated, and Cas looked around in awe.

"Let's see... My friend is... ah, right here. Hello, Vos." Pharma knelt on the edge of a blanket displaying exotic jewelry and frame decorations made from bits and pieces of what looked like everything under Luna.

Cas gave a cute little chirp and began looking over the wares.

Vos was a small mech with a blanket wrapped around him and a veil over his face. "Phaarrrmmaaa... Help youuu?"

Cas looked at him curiously then gave him a friendly smile before looking over things again.

"We're looking for my aeriemate. You know Starscream, right?" Pharma handed Vos the 

"Knoooowww.... hiiim. Long time ago... Straaaaange shiip."

Cas zeroed in a white sash trimmed with gold with swirling gold up the middle of the white.

"The Slender Lily?"

"Yyyesss...." He turned to Cas and tapped the sash. "Pppreeetttyy... Ten credddiitttsss..."

Cas paid him and took the sash.

"Vos. Can you remember where the Slender Lily was going?" Pharma asked him.

"Lllooonnggg time... Gave shhhhannnixxx... Keep this..." Vos reached into his blanket and pulled out a small, dry flower. "Clluuueee?"

Pharma took the flower, and Cas looked at it curiously.

"It's a Verne." Pharma told Cas. "It's blue, so it must have come from... Anno?" He looked at Vos for confirmation.

"Yessss... Annnnnoooo...." Vos held out his servo. Pharma placed a coin in it.

"Thanks, Vos."

"Welllllccccccoooooommmmeeee." Pharma led Cas away. "Anno, Pharma?"

"Starscream went there for his honeymoon. It's on the edges of Consortia territory. He brought back a Verne plant, that's how I know about them."

"Does that mean we look there for them?"

"I think it's a start at the least, but we'd need a ship, and I don't know where we'd get the shanix for that."

"We'll think of something."

"Maybe your poet has an idea." Pharma chuckled.

"Pharma!" "Ah ah ah, I know why you bought that sash, little one."

Cas heated. "Well..."

"Tonight we'll make you gleam and shine, Cousin. Megatron won't know what hit him." Cas heated more but smiled softly. 

Megatron and Rodimus examined the Verne. "And you're certain this means Anno?"

"Yes. I'm positive." "Well it's something anyway. Lets take a break for a while." They settled down, and Megatron watched Pharma and Cas disappear, giggling to each other. "Those two are up to something."

"Yeah, which is what we'll have to be to get the shanix for a ship. Passage would be impossible, the Council will know who we are."

"We'll figure something out, we don't have any other choice." Meanwhile Cas was being polished helm to pede until he practically sparkled. Pharma tied the sash then smirked and held up the matching veil. "Pharma!"

"You're a half-Seeker, Cas, you should have a veil, even if you don't wear it." He tied it around Cas's neck. "There. Just pull it up over your face if you ever need to hide."

He grinned. "Or to look mysteriously beautiful to a certain tank."

"Or that." Pharma kissed his helm. "What are you gonna do?"

He pulled the veil. "Hide," he chirped.

"Then I'll bring Megatron in, tell him you want to discuss matters with him."

"Wish me luck... I'll need it."

"No you don't. You have pretty eyes and a lovely frame. He'll fall for you flat."

"But... I want him to want me for me."

"Cas, he will, and I know he does already. Just tell him that you want him back. You'll be fine."

"Okay." Pharma smiled and went out.

Megatron and Rodimus were still discussing ships and how to acquire one.

"Megatron." "What is it, Pharma?" "Cas would like to discuss something important with you."

Megatron nodded. "Very well. Give me a moment." Megatron turned back to Rodimus. "If we're going to steal a ship, it has to be one that won't hurt anyone except the Council."

"I'll look into it." Megatron rose and stared for the room he and Cas shared. Pharma sat down, smirking. The others noticed.

"What's up, Pharms?" Ratchet questioned.

"Oh I think after tonight we'll have a new couple around."

Ratchet raised his optical ridges.

"You missed the signs, Ratchet?"

"I've had a lot on my mind, Pharma."

"Well they're nuts for each other." "Cuuuute," Jazz grinned.

"About as cute as you and Prowl." Ratchet chuckled.

"Shut up." They all laughed. Megatron entered the room. "Cas?" The Triple turned. He gleamed, sparkled really, in the light with a white sash trimmed with golden and swirling gold in the middle, and a matching veil on, making the attention go to his beautiful ocean blue eyes.

Megatron dropped his jaw on the floor. "Cas?"

He nodded. "Um... do you like them?" he asked shyly.

"They're beautiful, Cas, what is this for?" Megatron approached slowly.

Cas heated. "You."

He reached out and gently pulled the veil down. "Why?"

"I.... I love you, Megatron."

Megatron stroked his cheek. "I love you too, Cas. I've always thought you were the most beautiful mech I ever seen."

He heated more. "Thank you."

"I hope you didn't spend too much on this." He murmured.

"On what?"

"On the sash and veil." Megatron sighed, stroking the soft fabric. "You don't need to dress up for me."

"I bought the sash for you and because I really liked it and thought it was pretty. Pharma bought me the veil so I have something to disguise myself with if I need to."

"Wise decision. Things are going to get so much worse in Vos for the Seekers."

"Please, lets not talk about that now."

Megatron smiled. "No. What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know. I've never been with anyone before, not like this."

"Then I want to talk about you. About your beautiful eyes and pert lips and long, elegant legs.”

His sweet little Triple heated again, and he smiled as they sat down.

Megatron put an arm around her. "Your eyes were the first thing I noticed about you."

"Big and vibrant, the prettiest shade of blue I've ever seen."

"Your wings were the second. I could tell you were part Seeker. Most beautiful wings."

He gently stroked said wings, and Cas began to purr.

"And when I saw how delicate you were, it made me think you were even more beautiful by comparison with the other mechs."

"Because I'm delicate?"

"Yes, and swift as the wind."

He snuggled into the tank. "My ground mode is fast, too."

"I haven't seen it yet, but these tires... they look like hard-traction. Very nice." Megatron spun one.

Cas purred and chirp. Charge was slowly building in his frame.

Megatron pressed a kiss to his lips.

He kissed back, melting against the tank.

Megatron massaged his wings and rolled onto his back. 

Cas chirped and spread legs so Megatron could settle between them. He undid the sash and set it aside before slowly stroking over Cas's abdominal plating and legs. The Triple purred and let his panel open.

Megatron licked his fingers and gently pressed one into his valve.

Cas gasped then began to moan as the tank slowly moved his finger, finding nodes and other sensitive places as he worked to gentle stretch the smaller mech.

Megatron kissed the seam of his hip. "Beautiful."

He gave a pleased growled as Cas's valve began to lubricate from the stimulation.

Cas gave a soft chirp when Megatron added a second finger.

He looked dazed already. Clearly he had never been touched like this, not even by himself.

Megatron chuckled and gave him a final stretch. "Ready?"

He nodded, and Megatron slowly inched himself into his new mate.

Cas moaned as Megatron stretched him. "Megatron..."

He stopped. "Am I hurting you, sweetspark?" "I'll be okay. It's my first time after all."

Megatron kissed him. "I will be gentle as possible. I love you."

"Love you, too." He slowly inched himself deeper.

Cas wrapped his legs around him and urged him deeper.

He came to his mate's seal. "Relax, sweet, I'm going to break your seal now." Cas nodded, and he thrust forward.

Cas gasped and held him tight. "Oh..."

He rubbed his wings. "Easy. Hold on." He slid himself the rest of the way in and stopped to let Cas adjust to him.

Cas moaned in pleasure.

He was hot, wet, and deliciously tight around Megatron and clenched himself even more, testing the tank's reaction.

Megatron moaned and gasped. "I love you."

"I love you, Megatron. Please, love,... make love to me," he purred.

Megatron began thrusting slowly in and out, pressing kisses to his lips.

Cas moaned and gasped. His legs fell back, and Megatron was able to shift position, trying to give Cas the most pleasure he could.

When they reached climax, it was together, exchanging sparks across their plating.

Running on pure instinct as he overloaded, Cas's chest plates opened to reveal his golden spark.

Megatron shook his helm. "Not yet, Cas." He gently guided them closed and pressed a kiss to his lipplates.

Cas kissed him back. "I'm sorry.... it was instinct," he said quietly.

"It's all right. I'd like to save that, though, for when we can bring sparklings into the world in peace."

His little mate nodded, and Megatron gently pulled out and cleaned them up.

They relaxed together under the blanket. Megatron stroking Cas's wing hinges.

Cas's purring continued for a while even after he had fallen into recharge, lulled by his satisfaction and Megatron's gently attentions.

Megatron pressed a kiss to his helm and closed his optics to recharge. He was already composing new poetry.

The next morning Megatron emerged first, letting Cas sleep in. He was met with knowing smirks and grins.

"Be quiet. Do we have any ideas?"

"Yeah. We have a plan." Rodimus gestured. "While you two were enjoying yourselves, Jazz brought in Pharma's friend, who helped us ID a ship to take."

"What's the ship?" he asked as Pharma breezed by to check on Cas and ensure he wasn't overly sore or hurt from possibly getting too eager for his first time.

"It's a military one: A cruiser. Large and fast, with heavy armor and weaponry. It's fully fueled and stocked. Ready to go. It can carry the whole movement."

"Owner?" "Six of Twelve, but here's the real kicker. It was originally Sentinel's. So technically..." Megatron grinned. "It belongs to Cas now." "So we're just taking back what's rightfully his,"Jazz smirked.

"What's the catch?"

"It's heavily guarded, but Vos says he can get us into it without being discovered."

"How soon?"

"That's the real catch: We have to move tonight."

"I figured. Get everyone ready."

"Already on it. We can take everyone, I've sent word to all our boltholes."

"Good." Cas was awake when Pharma came in.

"How was it?" Pharma questioned.

He smiled. "Amazing.:

"Any pains?"

"I'm sore," he admitted.

"Let me run a scan. So... I hit up Vos again, and he found us a ship."

"That's great!"

"Yep. It's yours too: The Lost Light."

"Mine?" "It was Sentinel's, little one."

Cas nodded, biting his lip. "So, when do we go?"

"Tonight. Megatron and Rodimus are scrambling the rest of us. We're all going together."

"Did you Spark Merge?" Cas shook his helm. "No. He said we should wait."

"He's a sensible mech. Well, I suppose we'd better find the Deathbringer and learn whatever Sentinel wanted him to do for us so you can spark merge all you want."

He heated. "Pharma!" "Oh come on! I want to spoil your Sparkling!" Cas squealed with laughter as Pharma tickled him.

The two flyers wrestled until they were both messes of laughter.

Megatron was writing down the last of his poem when Cas came running, giggling. He jumped into his mate's arms. "Megatron! Help!" "What?! What happened?!" "Pharma's trying to kill me kisses and tickles!" he mate giggled. Pharma came out, grinning. "Hand over my victim, Megatron."

Megatron chuckled. "All yours." He tossed Cas to Pharma, knocking the medic to the floor. Then, he grabbed Pharma's pede and tickled his thruster.

He laughed and struggled. Cas jumped on his mate. "Traitor!" he squealed and began tickling Megatron.

"It was a ruse, Cas!" Megatron laughed.

Jazz coughed. "Can we focus on what we're doing you three?"

Megatron got up and helped the flyers up. "Lets save the play for when we're out of here."

Jazz nodded. "We're almost all here. Now, listen up, folks. Vos is going to get us into the vent system here." He pointed to a spot on the map. "In groups of three and four, we're going to enter it, then climb through here. I want everyone to write on their servos: Left, left, down, right, and left again. Those are the directions to the vent directly above the ship. We drop down here, in the blindspot, and enter the ship here: Through the emergency hatch. The first four groups will be fully armed and responsible for clearing the ship without letting the alarm raise. The rest of you will just need to get on with any supplies we have or belongings you can't leave. One caveat: Don't bring anything suspicious or out of the ordinary unless you can hide it in your subspace.”

They all nodded. "Okay This is our chance, so lets get it done."

In a cycle, they began wandering into the spaceport. The first group was Megatron, Jazz, Rodimus, and Cas.

Cas had come far in his combat training and was one of their fastest fighters, though Megatron still protested his placement as it would still put Cas in the most danger.

"It'll be fine, Megs." Jazz promised. "We can't move until we have the other three groups anyway. It'll be a much larger group clearing the ship."

"I still don't like it." Cas nuzzled him. "I'll be okay, love."

Megatron kissed his helm and the group reached Vos, bundled in his blanket in front of his tarp. Cas noticed that most of his goods were tucked away and the goods on the tarp, which would likely have to be abandoned, were cheap. "Hey, Vos."

Vos moved aside from his spot. He was sitting on the grate. "Iiiinnnn...."

They dropped into the vents and set off. This was it.

The Lost Light was massive when they dropped down onto it. Jazz hacked into the hatch and they dropped down into the ship with ease. Finding an open room, they settled in to wait for the other three combat teams.

One by one the teams dropped in. "All right. Clean and quick, lets take 'em out.

The interior was minimally guarded by a few Council guards and they secured the bridge in a cycle. By then, half of the Resistance was there, on board.

They had sustained some wounds, but no one was dead. Pharma hurried to check Cas and Megatron.

"Armor wounds." He declared, patching them up. "We might have trouble, though. I saw some guards who were unusually interested in Vos."

"What do we do?" Cas asked.

"I don't know. Pray." Pharma sighed.

"I'm going to comm the other teams." Jazz replied. "Give them an alternate entrance if Vos is taken."

"All right." "I wish we could help him." Megatron held Cas close. "I know, Sweetspark."

Klaxons rang through the spaceport after three quarters of the teams made it on board. Jazz looked up. "I'm going back. I'll make it back here, don't worry." The spook was away before anyone could speak.

“Jazz!” Prowl cried.

“Remain at your post, Prowl. Jazz is doing his job. We have to do ours.” Megatron called to him.

"Primus protect him." It was anxious waiting for Jazz to return.

Jazz bolted back onto the bridge. “Go! Go, go, go!” He was carrying Vos on his back, still bundled in his blanket. 

They launched, hurrying away from Cybertron.

The Functionist soldiers were taken by surprise and the Lost Light initiated a quantum jump before they could scramble any real resistance.

“How long to Anno?” Cas asked.

“A few days by normal drive. Our quantum engines need to recharge.” Prowl replied. He leaned back, venting heavily. “We made it.”

The time aboard the Lost Light was one of relief and wonder at what would happen when they reached Anno. Most of the things on the ship had been left there by Sentiel, so Megatron forbid the others from going through them until after Cas had done so.

Of course, this only extended to Sentinel’s quarter. The rest of the ship soon became a busy hive of activity as the two hundred or so mechs and about three dozen sparklings settled themselves into a community all about the ship.

Cas watched the Sparklings longingly as he sat with Sentinel's things, going through them with Pharma.

“What do you want to keep?” Pharma questioned.

“Huh?” He asked, distracted.

Pharma looked up, seeing Slamdance and Shortcircuit playing with their two sparklings. “Ah. I see where your thoughts are.”

Cas sighed and leaned against the other flyer.

Pharma hugged him gently. “It will happen someday, Cas, but we must be patient.”

"I know." They began sorting Sentinel's things. Cas kept most of his books, a picture of him and Nightwing, and a couple weapons, a sword and a handgun. Everything else was given to the crew to sort through.

It wasn’t long before there was a series of shops set up as each mech began to ply their own trade. Vos was the first, laying out his tarp as usual near the hangar where they had three shuttles.

Seeing this Cas wondered at the fate of the ship, but that soon left his mind as they at last reached Anno. It was agreed that they would split up in twos and threes with each group having a mech either Starscream would know, namely Pharma, or that Orion would know. Cas went with Pharma, and Megatron paired off with Ratchet.

“Where should we start?” The former miner questioned the medic.

"Orion never said much about Anno to be honest. Pharma, any ideas?"

Pharma pulled out a picture of a landscape. "He took this on his honeymoon from the balcony of the place where he was staying. I have a copy. Take this, and let's start looking for that. Then, we can ask around about our pair of mechs."

"All right." They set off, and Cas seemed nervous. "How do you think he'll react, Pharma?"

"I'd worry more about finding him. I doubt whatever he was sent to do ended on Anno, but he might have left us another clue if we can find it."

"So we're basically on a while turbofox chase?"

"We could be. I hate to say it, but we don't even know if the Deathbringer is still alive."

Cas groaned and sat down on a nearby outdoor bench. Pharma sat down and smiled knowingly. "Cycle?" His young cousin nodded.

Pharma patted his wings. "Stay here, I'll talk to some locals." He called out in the local language and began speaking to some shopkeepers about the picture of Orion and the one of the landscape.

Cas let his helm fall back. He hated this. He was so miserable.

Pharma laid a hand on his wing.

"Find something?" he asked.

"I think we've had a break. The cloth merchant over there says the picture was taken off point La Roja: That way. We just have to visit the villas there and look at the view from each one and we'll find our location."

Cas got up and wandered over to a stall he had spotted. Pharma followed and chuckled at the sight of energon sugar bars. 

"All right, we'll get a few." Pharma laughed. "But then we head off."

"I can eat and walk," Cas agreed.

Point La Roja was beautiful. There were four villas, set high on the cliffs overlooking the Sea. Exactly the sort of place a Seeker would find lovely. Pharma sighed in pleasure as he looked over the view, holding up the picture.

Cas purred and wished Megatron was there to see it. He nuzzled his older cousin, and Pharma smiled. The little Triple was so sweet. He knew Star would just love him.

"This is definitely the place. Let's find the villa and call around to Megatron."

"No need." Megatron and Ratchet were walking up the path. "We were sent here after we showed around a few pictures of Orion. They're here, all right."

Cas darted to his mate, chirping.

Megatron put an arm around him. "It's beautiful isn't it? Well, let's see if we can't figure out which of these villas is our target."

It was Cas who figured it out and completely by accident. He happened to point it out asking Pharma about the sign over the doorway.

It was a bouquet of lilies: Slender, Calla Lillies. "This is definitely the place." Pharma chuffed. "The question becomes, is it inhabited?"

"Ring the doorbell?" Cas suggested.

Megatron was way ahead of them, knocking on the door. There wasn't any answer.

"Doesn't seem like there's anyone."

Pharma picked the lock with his claws and they pushed the door open. They were greeted by a neat, beautiful house decorated in nautical style.

Cas looked utterly bamboozled.

Pharma sighed. "Well, let's search the place, I suppose."

"Freeze." A firm voice stated behind them. "Servos in the air."

They slowly obeyed and turned around.

The convoy they had been searching for had them covered with two blasters. "Who are you and what do you want?"

“Orion?” Ratchet said.

“Ratchet? What are you doing here?” Orion lowered the weapons. “Who’s with you?”

"A friend of mine, Megatron, Starscream's aeriemate Pharma, and Starscream's half-brother, Cas, Megatron's mate."

“Hello, I’m Orion Pax. Starscream isn’t here right now, though.” He turned and called out the door. “Rigel! Regulus! You can come in now!”

The two sparklings came running. “Carrier! Who are they, Carrier?”

“They’re old friends, from Cybertron. Say hello.” Orion let the two in. One was a triple changer with convoy as one of his modes, the other a Seeker. They seemed to each take after one of their Creators, with Regulus blue and red and Rigel red, white, and blue.

“Where is Starscream?” Pharma asked, longing to see his aeriemate.

“I wish I knew.” Orion sighed. “I haven’t seen him in fifteen vorns, since these two had their third Creationday.”


	2. Orion Pax

"What do you mean you haven't seen him in fifteen vorns?" Pharma asked, stunned.

"I mean exactly what I said. He came home, stayed for a few months, as was his wont, then left on business. I haven't seen him since."

"Look, Orion, we can speak in private? Away from Sparkling audials?" Megatron said.

Orion bent down and kissed each Sparkling on the helm. "Go get your model jets and play in the garden."

"Yes, Carrier." They chimed and ran towards their rooms.

"Orion... Sentinel Prime is dead, and before he died had asked us to find Deathbringer."

Orion stiffened and turned slowly, servos on hips. "And?"

"And we know it's you."

Orion blinked. "Come again?"

"We know Deathbringer is you." 

He shook his helm. "You have it wrong. I'm not Deathbringer. Starscream is."

Pharma gasped. "Starscream? Starscream couldn't hurt a fly."

"I imagine Starscream couldn't. He's certainly too gentle to even spank our two. But Deathbringer isn't Starscream. At least, the two are so distant from each other as to be separate people."

"How? How is it even possible?"

"I don't know. He isn't crazy or mentally ill, if that's what you're thinking. It's like he separated himself and Deathbringer on purpose while in Sentinel's service."

Megatron face-palmed. "After all of our talk about not stereotyping, we're just as guilty as the Functionists. But you haven't seen him in fifteen vorns?"

"Do you have any clues to where he might be?" Cas asked.

"I do have clues, but I haven't pursued them."

"Then let us. He's needed to help stop the Council. Six of Twelve has the Matrix, and the Senate is gone, fallen with Sentinel."

"Six of Twelve has the Matrix? The Functionists." Orion pinched his nasal vent. "No, this isn't happening."

"They attacked the Senate killing them and Sentinel. He died in Cas's arms."

Orion turned and punched a wall. "Why didn't you say sooner? We all have to get out of here. Now."

"Come on. You and your Sparklings will be safe on our ship. It's become a community itself."

"Good. Rigel! Regulus!" Orion rushed to the door. "Secret Mission 13!"

The two sparklings ran inside, past their Carrier, who headed for the master bedroom. In five klicks, they were assembled again in the living room with backpacks and minimal luggage.

"Quickly," Megatron urged. They hurried through the streets and alleys until they reached the Lost Light, Megatron taking up the rear.

Orion turned back just once to look at the home they were leaving behind, then firmed his lipplates and carried on, sparklings in one arm and a case in the free servo. "We have a ship as well. I don't want to leave it behind."

"Where?" Jazz asked.

"A warehouse on the outskirts."

They picked up the ship and left Anno for the safety of space. "All right, Orion, lets see if we can't find your mate," Megatron said at last. Cas was playing with the Sparklings nearby, keeping them calm and happy, to Orion's relief.

"We can track Starscream's ship, the Novacutter, to wherever he left it with the Slender Lily." Orion patted the controls. "When Starscream gave me this ship for our bonding, he told me it was the second half of a pair and could always find its mate."

"Good." "This ship is so big!" said Rigel. Cas smiled. "Yes it is. It was my Creator's."

Orion looked over at Cas. "Starscream never mentioned you. Of course, he didn't speak about his family much to me, but I think he would have mentioned a brother."

"We never met." "It was when Starscream had his falling out with Nightwing," Pharma explained. "I guess it was about me, or my Creator. I... Sentinel is my Creator."

Orion nodded. "I always thought Starscream had had a fight with his Creators. I never guessed it was over an affair with Sentinel. I guess that makes us brothers as well." He offered a servo. "Orion Pax- bar Missio."

Cas shook his servo. "Cas."

"Starscream hated Sentinel." He turned back to the control panel, typing instructions. "I can't speak for him, but welcome to the family."

"Thank you. If he hated him why did he work for him?"

"He hated the mech, but he hated the idea of someone hurting his homeworld or worse, the Functionists getting a hold of the throne, more." Optimus explained. "And I think some part of him enjoyed the work: The challenge of defeating security systems, hunting down the targets. He had a very fast processor, could leave me in the dust any day."

"He sounds amazing."

"He is. He had a perfect record." Orion's servos stilled on the controls. "Every target, every time. He never told me details, but he kept a record on one arm: A mark for every mission he successfully completed. They were all straight lines. He told me that when he failed his first mission, he would mark it with a circle and stop counting."

"How many?" Cas questioned.

"Fifty-seven. I was his conjux for the last seventeen."

"I hope we find him, and... I'm sorry for all this. I never meant to uproot you and your Sparklings."

"It's not your fault. I should thank you. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have known the Functionists were in command until they came knocking."

"You're welcome." "So... what was is like with Sentinel for a Creator?" "I don't know. I never actually knew him. Carrier didn't tell me who my Creator was until I was an adult. The Council would rather I not exsist. We were poor, so when I stole energon to survive they had their excuse to make me disappear. I was arrested, my vocalizer removed, and I was a prisoner for ten vorns until I was sent the mines where Megatron saved me from dying down there."

Orion looked out the window. "I'm sorry. If Starscream had known... If I had known... we would have done everything in our power to save you."

"Thank you, but... I'm glad, to a point. If it hadn't happened I wouldn't have Megatron."

Orion nodded. "Well, now that we're safely away. What exactly are you all? You're not Senate Guard, and I just hacked into your computers, so I know you're not Functionists. I don't think you're pirates, so that leaves rebels."

"Patriots is the preferred term." Prowl interrupted.

"Along with some refugees," Cas said. Megatron came over and tickled Rigel, who was cuddled up to his mate, kissing his love's helm.

"If you knew to come to Anno, who sent you?" Orion questioned.

"Sentinel gave us this picture," Megatron said, handing it to him.

"Ah. I see. Very vague of him. He had our address, but I suppose if he was dying when you found him, he couldn't have given you his top-secret files." Orion turned the picture over. "And that's the name of our ship, but who pointed you to Anno?"

"Pharma's friend Vos."

"Vos is still kicking? I was sure he would have rusted through by now. He's an old friend of the family."

"He's here on the Lost Light, actually."

"I'll have to buy something from him." Orion noted absently to himself. "And... there. It will take about a cycle for the signal to triangulate, though."

"Well... I think the little ones like their new uncle." Cas was the bottom of a mechpile with Regulus and Rigel on top of him, giggling.

Orion chuckled. "All right, you two, not too rough now."

"Yes, Carrier!" They giggled, climbing over their uncle as he reached around to tickle them.

"Carrier." Pharma muttered. "I always swore if Starscream bonded, he would carry. Looks like I don't know my aeriemate well at all."

“It took some arguing for him to agree to let me do it. He was still working strong so we finally agreed it would be best if I carried them." He chuckled. "Turns out he loved doting on me.”

“Now, that sounds like Starscream.”

"Why do you and the little ones get some rest, Orion?" Megatron suggest as the Sparklings were fighting recharge, snuggled up to Cas, who purred over them.

“We could use it. Good day, Cas.” Orion gathered up his two and Ratchet went to show him to their quarters.”

"Rest well," Cas replied. He watched them leave with a degree of envy.

Megatron kissed his helm. “Let’s go to Swerve’s bar and relax for a while. You heard Orion, it’s going to take time for the Lily to triangulate the Novacutter’s position.”

Cas kissed him sweetly. “Then to berth.” He purred.

“You’ll be the death of me yet.” Megatron caressed his servo and they walked down to Swerve’s lively, noisy bar.’

They enjoyed a few drinks, and an idea came to Megatron as Cas began to get frisky. He chuckled and led his sweet, little mate to their quarters. "How about something a little different tonight, Sweetspark?"

“What do you have in mind?”

He reached down to tease Cas's codpiece. "How about I ride you tonight?"

Cas purred. “Sounds interesting.”

They climbed into their berth, and Cas let his spike panel pop. Megatron began to stroke and lick him.

Cas mewled in pleasure as his mate brought him to full hardness. The former miner climbed into his lap and teased him gently.

“M-Megatron!”

“Shh… I love you.” Megatron murmured, kissing Cas on the lipplates before sinking down onto him in one go.

Cas gasped, and Megatron moaned as his inner walls were stroked and nodes hit and rubbed.

They began moving together, slowly at first, but then faster as they reached new heights.

As Megatron moved up, Cas suddenly heaved, rolling them over. "Oof!" He pulled out and tugged at his mate, so Megatron scooted down until Cas was able to lift his legs and rest the tank's ankles on the footboard of the bed.

The new position enabled them to rock together, kissing each other’s faces and moaning their names.

“C-Close!” Cas gasped.

“So am I!” Megatron moaned back. “Don’t stop!”

He came first, his valve clenching around Cas, who moaned and pushed in as deep as he could.

They lay together, relaxing. 

After cleaning up they curled up together, and Cas sighed. "I hate this, having to wait to try."

“I know, but there’s no future for our children if we don’t get ahold of Deathbringer and overthrow the Council.”

He sighed. "I know, I just hate it. I want it so badly, especially after playing with the little ones."

“I want it too. It will happen. I promise. We will win, and when we do, we will have our children.”

Megatron held him through the night, cursing the Council.

In the morning, Orion and his sparklings joined them for morning fuel. Rigel and Regulus were playing with their model jets again. Something about them caught Cas’s optic.

"Orion, where did they get those?" "Starscream built them. Why?" "They look like... like Carrier."

“Oh.” Orion turned to Rigel. “Rigel, may I see your model jets?”

Rigel nodded and pulled out three jets in addition to the one that he was playing with. Orion laid them out on the table. “They’re models of Starscream’s family.” He showed Cas how to transform one of them into its mech mode.

Cas touched the model of Nightwing, the pain returning.

“You can have them.” Rigel hugged Cas’s knee. “I have lots of models. Carrier taught me to make them.”

Cas picked up the little Triple Changer and hugged him. "Oh, sweetling, I can't take your toys."

“You have this one!” Rigel insisted, pressing the miniature Nightwing into his servo.

"Thank you, little one." Rigel went back to his play as Cas held the model of his Carrier. "Where is Nightwing?" Megatron hugged his mate. "The Council had him killed and tried to kill Cas as well."

Orion nodded and reached out, taking Cas’s servo and squeezing. “Starscream did not speak of him, but he made several models of his Carrier, so I know he loved him.”

"His last words were ordering me to run." Megatron kissed his mate's helm. "He wanted you to live, my love."

Pharma crossed the hall and sat down beside Orion. “What are we speaking of?”

"Carrier," Cas said quietly, showing him the model.

“Starscream still making his models.” Pharma quietly picked up his own and transformed it. 

"Yes, and taught me how so I could keep making them for the boys."

Pharma sighed and transformed the other two. “Missio and Starscream himself. The four Seekers who meant more to him than anything. Cas should have a model.”

"He didn't know me, it makes sense there isn't one."

“Nevertheless, you’ll have one.” Orion agreed. “I don’t know how to make a Triple-Changer model, though, so it will have to be only one of your modes.”

"My Seeker mode then." The Slender Lily got a hit before the conversation could go further.

“Commander.” Prowl commed. “The Slender Lily has transmitted an encoded set of coordinates to the Lost Light.”

"Lets have a look," Megatron said.

Orion looked over the coordinates. "Delenn. Planet Delenn. Damn, Stars, what have you gotten yourself into?"

"Delenn?" Cas asked.

"Delenn is right on the border of the inner core of the Black Block Consortia." Prowl explained to Cas.

"I... still don't know what means."

"It means it's as far as Cybertronians can go. The Consortia doesn't allow mechanical species past Delenn."

"Oh. I never knew there were non-Cybertronians."

“The Camiens and the Devisuns are only a few examples of such species, and the Consortia doesn’t trust any of us.” Megatron explained.

"I guess we go then."

“I guess we have to.” Prowl began plugging in orders. 

Orion shook his helm. “The one place he swore he would never carry a contract too…”

The very air felt foreboding as they disembarked upon arrival, and Cas pressed into Megatron.

Orion had a device that was tracking the Novacutter. “It should be within a few miles.”

"All right, we'll follow you, Orion."

Orion led the way. The silence was deep, grim.

Cas was trembling in the heavy feeling in the air.

Suddenly, a tank appeared on Orion’s flank and fired a warning shot under his wheels, flipping the convoy.

Cas screamed, and Megatron covered him. "Hold! Hold! We're just trying to find someone! We're not here to fight!"

"This is private property." The tank replied, leveling his dual canons. There was a spindly mech sitting on his back. "And you don't belong here."

"Please, my Conjux's ship is near here. He's missing, and I'm trying to find him," Orion said.

The tank transformed into a large mech with wide shoulders and the second mech dropped off of his shoulders. "Do you have proof?"

Orion showed him a model of Starscream. "This is him. Have you seen him?"

"You're the Ground Pounder?" The tank questioned. "I always thought you would be smaller."

"Then you've seen him!"

"He hires us to watch over the Novacutter when he needs to make a trip into the Core." The spindly mech replied. "The last time we saw him... fifteen vorns?"

"Sounds right." The tank replied.

"But... that was when I last saw him. Do you... know where he went? Please think."

The tank sighed and folded his arms. "Cerisia. To kill the head of the Consortia."

"What?! No. Damn you, Star! You promised!" He began to shake. "You promised." Cas hugged his brother-in-law, trying to comfort him.

The spindly mech and the tank exchanged glances. "You didn't know?"

"He swore to me he would never a job past Delenn."

"What were his exact words?"

"He said... He said "If the Senate gives me a choice, I will never take an assignment past Delenn.""

"He should have just told me. I'm going to kill him when I find him."

"Wouldn't that be counterintuitive to finding him?" The spindly mech questioned.

"Not literally, Kaon," said the tank.

"It was an attempt at humor. I won't try again. It doesn't matter anyway. Deathbringer's missions almost always take him into the Core. I don't see how he could have made any such promises."

"Kaon!"

"Apologies, the ship is this way."

They followed the two to Starscream's ship. "So who are the rest of you?" asked the tank. "I'm Pharma, Starscream's aeriemate, this is Cas, his half-brother, and Megatron, Cas's mate."

"My name is Tarn, rather my codename is Tarn, and this is Kaon."

"Codename?"

"We work for Sentinel as well. Codenames are the rule: Deathbringer, Tarn, Kaon, and Vos. We were a unit together for the first ten missions. Then Sentinel figured out that Star worked better alone."

"Vos?!"

"Yeah, Vos. Do you know him?"

"He's with us!" exclaimed Cas.

Kaon grinned. "Is he? We'll have to visit. How is he?"

"He's.... alive," Pharma hedged.

Kaon's smile dropped. "What happened to him?"

"... It's hard to explain. I don't know what he used to be like." Orion tried.

Kaon looked at Tarn. "Perhaps we could split up. Kaon and someone goes to see Vos?" he suggested.

"The Novacutter is right ahead." Kaon replied. "We'll retrieve it and go to your ship together."

"All right." They finally reached the Novacutter.

It was hidden in a basement in a barn. It was a long, sleek black ship with heavy stealth abilities.

"Lets go. We can look for clues or anything back on the Lost Light. It's not safe to linger here," Megatron said.

"You said it. Our species may not be banned here, but we're not welcome either." Kaon agreed.


	3. Tarn

They got the Novacutter running and headed back up to the mothership.

Once there Pharma and Cas led Tarn and Kaon to Vos.

Vos looked up and his optics widened. "Kaaaaaooonn?"

"Vos!"

Vos dropped his blanket, revealing a scarred and marred plating set. "Kaaaooonnn!" He reached out to the other mech.

Kaon gently embraced him.

The two were both long and spindly and it was difficult to discern their alt-modes. Cas briefly wondered if they were related. Then, Vos reached up to his face and pushed aside his veil. The two mechs kissed gently. Old lovers then.

He smiled and moved off to give them privacy.

Megatron sneaked up behind him. "Well, we're one step closer."

He jumped with a squeal. "Megatron, don't do that!"

Megatron chuckled and kissed his nape. "I'm sorry. It's so much fun to see you surprised."

Cas turned his nasal vent up. "Well then you can enjoy the image by yourself tonight."

Megatron apologized profusely. Meanwhile, Orion's twins ran down the corridors, making jet noises and holding their toy models above their helms.

Rounding the corner they collided with a little yellow Sparkling who had come with a few refugees.

"Oww!" Rigel went down on his aft and Regulus tumbled over.

The yellow sparkling fell back as well and began to cry, a good bit younger than the twins. Rigel sat up at once. "Uh oh."

"Aww... it's okay, little guy... Are you hurt?" Rigel picked up the small sparkling and looked helplessly at his brother.

"I'll go get an adult." Regulus hurried off in hopes of finding Optimus. He encountered Cas and Megatron not too far away. "Uncle Cas! Uncle Megatron!" They turned at once. "Regulus, what's the matter?" Cas asked.

"We ran into someone and now he's crying!"

"This way!" They followed him to where Rigel stood with the tiny yellow sparkling. "We didn't mean to, honest!" Cas took the little one and began to rock and shush him. "It was an accident, Uncle Megatron." "We believe you, boys, but this why grown ups tell you to look where you're going. Regulus, good job getting an adult."

Regulus hugged Rigel and patted his wings.

The yellow sparkling quieted in Cas's arms, and Megatron looked him over, trying to gauge his age.

"He's only about ten vorns old." Megatron stroked the tiny child.

"Where are your Creators, little one?" Cas asked.

The little yellow mech shook his helm.

"They're... gone?" He nodded, and Cas looked at Megatron.

Megatron sighed and nodded. "All right, we can keep him."

His mate smiled. "Don't worry, little one, we'll take care of you from now on."

The little one sniffled and looked up at them with bright, blue optics.

"Can you speak, little one? Do you have a name?"

The little sparkling pulled his digit out of his mouth. "Bubblebee."

"Bubble.... Bumblebee?"

He nodded his little helm.

Cas smiled. "Are you hungry?"

Bumblebee nodded. Megatron stroked his helm. "Let's get him some food. Come on."

"Rigel, Regulus, are you hungry?"

The twins nodded and they fell in line.

The mess hall always had activity, and little Bumblebee had never seen it from so high up.

The sparkling found himself giggling as he looked around.

Cas and Megatron smiled at the sound, and the tank got them energon. They sat down, and Bumblebee sucked his cube as he sat on Cas's lap.

"Where's Orion, little ones?" Megatron questioned the twins.

"Carrier said he was going to think and we were supposed to play quietly." Rigel explained.

Their uncles exchanged looks. "How long ago was that?"

Rigel shrugged. "A while."

"Maybe I should go check on him," Megatron said.

"All right. I'll watch these three." Cas kissed Bumblebee's helm.

Megatron headed to find Orion, checking his quarters first then the Slender Lily and Novacutter."

He finally worked his way to Swerve's bar and approached the fast-talking metallurgist.

"Swerve, you seen Orion anywhere?"

"You mean long, tall, and morose? He's had three Flaming Hammers. Right over there." Swerve pointed to a corner table partially hidden.

"Thanks." Megatron approached him. "Orion?"

Orion looked up from his bright red cocktail. "Captain."

"You all right? The boys said you've been... thinking... for a while now."

"I guess it has been a while. I've been trying to stop thinking, though." He toyed with the straw in his drink.

"Want to talk about it?"

"I'm torn between wanting to grab my boys and hold them as tightly as I can and not wanting them to worry that they don't have a Creator anymore."

"We don't know that for sure, Orion." "It's been fifteen vorns."

"Well, yes, but they wouldn't kill Deathbringer, would they? They would want whatever information he has and I get the feeling he wouldn't give it up to them without a fight."

"I hope you're right, Megatron. What's our next move?"

"We have to go into the Core, that much is clear. We need to find out exactly who Starscream was sent to kill and where he went. That might give us some clues to who caught him and where he was taken."

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

"I don't know. We either need some organic allies who would sympathize with us or some way to disguise ourselves as organics. I hope Brainstorm has some ideas."

"Guess we should go see." Megatron nodded. "Where are-" "They're in the mess hall with Cas and Bumblebee, a little orphan they found."

"I think I need to hug them. Excuse me." Orion stood up, leaving a credit chip on the table.

“Sure." Orion found them in the mess hall teaching a tiny yellow sparkling a game like Earth patty cake.

He smiled softly, remembering Starscream teaching them the very same game. At the end of the round, he slipped an arm around each and pulled them to his chassis.

They giggled and snuggled into him. “Carrier!”

Orion kissed both their helms and purred his engines to the sparklings.

"Carrier, guess what?" He smiled. "What, Regulus?" "Bumblebee's gonna be our new cousin!"

"That's great. I know you'll all get along." Orion smiled.

Cas soon left the mess hall with Bumblebee, and Pharma found him and the sparkling in his quarters, watching the little mechling explore the rooms.

"Hello, Cas, who is this?

"This is Bumblebee, an orphan Megatron and I took it."

"How sweet. Hello, Bumblebee."

He looked up and waved shyly. "Do you like your new Carrier and Creator?"

Bumblebee nodded.

"That's very good. They'll take good care of you." He sat beside Cas and hugged the younger flyer.

"How are you?" Pharma sighed.

"Scared of what we may or may not fine in the Core... and of going to to the Core."

"Only a madmech wouldn't be afraid, Cas."

"I just want this to be over, Pharma. Now there's just so much more to lose."

“I understand, believe me. But there’s nothing to be done about it. We need Starscream.”

"I know." Bumblebee wandered over and lifted his tiny servos in a plea to be held. Cas picked him up and cuddled him.

Pharma hugged both gently. "I love you, Cas. You too, Bumblebee."

"I love you, too, Pharma." "Wuv!"

The medically inclined Seeker chuckled and kissed Bumblebee's head.

Cas smiled and nuzzled his new son.

The sparkling puffed against them.

Meanwhile Megatron was speaking to Brainstorm."

"Yeah, I have an idea." Brainstorm began clattering around. "One word: Holomatter-Avatar."

"All right. What do you need to make it happen?"

"Already done. Tinkered on this back on Cybertron, figured it would be useful."

"How does it work?"

"It works like a normal hologram combined with a forcefield. Our frames will stay here and we'll send the avatars. It's like virtual reality."

“Is there a limit to how many at once.”

“With our power output? Six, I think.”

"All right. I'll talk to the others. Thanks, Brainstorm."

“You’re welcome, Captain.”

Megatron rounded the group up and explained all this. "So only six of us go?" "That's right, Pharma."

“Well, who should then?”

“I have to.” Orion immediately stated.

Megatron nodded. "I'll go as well. Pharma, Ratchet, one of you so we have a medic."

Ratchet looked over at Pharma. "I should go."

"Why? He's my aeriemate."

"Just in case... you know, something happens."

"What's going to happen, Ratchet?"

"Have you ever met Brainstorm?"

"No."

"Consider yourself lucky."

"I'll go," Tarn volunteered. "Me too," said Jazz. Megatron looked at Cas. "Love?" "No. I'm staying." He held Bumblebee close. "We can't both leave, not now."

Megatron nodded. "That makes five. Anyone else?"

“I'll go too," said Prowl. "All right."  
5:05:40 PM  
"Step right in here." Brainstorm opened up six cylindrical chambers along one wall. "And let the machine work its magic."

Cas kissed his mate. “Be careful.” 

Megatron kissed him back, patting his hip. “Always.”

Bumblebee reached for his Creator.

Megatron held the tiny Sparkling close to him. “Good-bye, little one. I will return.”

“Cwatow.”

The miner smiled. “Yes, I am your Creator. I love you, Bumblebee. And you too, Cas.” He handed the sparkling back to Cas and stepped into the tube, waving as he went.

“Good luck.” Cas whispered, already worried. Pharma put an arm around him. The tubes sealed and the six mechs began projecting their avatars all the way to Cerisia.

Now all Cas and Pharma could do was wait.

Meanwhile, Megatron was admiring Brainstorm’s handiwork. “Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.” He looked down at his Ceri servos, seeing the skin. “He’s a genius.”

“Gush later. We need to get to work.” Tarn said.

“All right. You’re the expert.” Megatron told the tank. “What should we do?”

“We need to find a news archive, start looking for clues. Deathbringer captured would have repercussions. Someone would have seen something.”

Took some time and doing, but at last they found something.

“Here.” Ratchet stood up, carrying a datapad over. They had found an archive with information. “It mentions the head of the Consortia giving permission to use something called the “Shadow Trap” in an extraordinary circumstance.”

"Shadow Trap? Come the ship and have a search done or see if anyone knows anything. The 'extraordinary circumstance' is what really worries me," Megatron said.

Ratchet sent a comm to Brainstorm, who promised to ask around. "I think the extraordinary circumstance was to contain the Deathbringer. He isn't just a sniper: He's a fully trained assassin. He could escape normal prisons."

"Lets dig along this vein then and see if we can get anything else."

They looked for more reports and information. "Here's another. Most of it is redacted, but it's detailing an intrusion by a representation of a mechanical race."

"Anything on the Shadow Trap?" "No."

"Here's something." Orion carried over a book. "It's a book on the science of dreams and comas. I think the "Shadow Trap" is a chemical formula, not a physical object." He showed them a series of diagrams. "Some of these talk about trapping people inside their own heads."

"Anything on how to reverse it?" Jazz asked with a grimace.

"There are a lot of poisons here, but no antidotes. I think these are supposed to be a modified death sentence. Almost all of them are lethal eventually. If we suppose that Starscream is still alive, there would have to be a different definition." Ratchet looked through the book.

Megatron sighed. This wasn't looking good.

"Hang it. I've found something." Jazz had another text. "I found Shadow Trap. You're right, Orion, it is a drug, but it's also a place. It's a pocket dimension."

"It's both?" "Yeah." "This keeps getting worse."

"Oh, it gets worse. We have to go in after him."

"Of course we do. How the frag do we do that?"

"Well, here's the good news. The pocket dimension itself is portable. So, what we need to do is find where the portal is, and steal that and some of the Shadow Trap formula."

"And the bad news?"

"The bad news? We have to physically bring a ship and a team here to do it."

"Seriously? How?! The whole point of the avatars was to NOT do that."

"The Novacutter has advanced stealth protocols." Tarn pointed out. "It should be possible to get here physically."

"I can find a plan for the building." Jazz agreed. "And with some time, I can pinpoint his location using my avatar. That would let you guys get here."

"How much time do you need, Jazz?"

"A decacycle. You guys would need at least that to get here."

“All right.”

"Okay. Have Brainstorm pull you out and pick a team to come meet us. I'll have to stay with the Lost Light because I'll be in Avatar mode, and I'll be here to guide you down when I have a plan of attack."

They nodded. "Be careful." "I will." They commed Brainstorm who pulled them out.

Prowl didn't like the idea at all. "Physically go into the Core? That's nuts!"

"We don't have any other choice, Prowl. That's why we need only the most dedicated volunteers."

"Count me out." Prowl frowned. "I didn't sign up for this kind of risk."

"I'll go." Rodimus volunteered. The young mech made a face at Prowl. "What choice do we have?"

That was a good question. Did they have a choice? Sentinel had sent them after Deathbringer, but what if there was another way to take out the Council? Would it be elaborate suicide to attempt to rescue the assassin? Megatron found himself wavering.

Cas handed him Bumblebee. "Time for us to switch out," his little mate said. There was fear yet determination in the Triple Changer, and his wings flicks dismissively at Prowl.

"No, Cas. I'll go." Megatron reached out to his triple-changer.

"You've hardly had any rest, Megatron. Stay. Besides,... he's my brother. This is something I need to do."

"All right. Be safe then."

"Cas, this is insane!" Pharma exclaimed. "You can't go there, you might never come back!"

"It's the same risk everyone that goes takes."

"We're all insane, then!" Pharma put his servos to his optics. "This will sound sparkless, but we don't even know Starscream is alive or if he is alive if he's retrievable! I saw those formulas Ratchet scanned, they can do massive damage to the processor!"

"All the same we have to try," Cas said.

Pharma put a servo to his optics. "Then you'll need a medic."

A few others volunteered, including the twins and Blitzwing.

Orion wanted to go, but Pharma and Megatron talked him out of it.

"The boys need you, and if something happens... you just can't afford to risk leaving them orphans." He sighed. "I know."

"We'll bring him back." Cas promised.

"You guys make sure YOU come back. We'll all be waiting."

Cas kissed the convoy's cheekplate and went to Megatron and Bumblebee. "I'll come back."

Megatron kissed him and hugged him tight. "I love you. Don't you dare die."

"I wouldn't. Promise. I love you both." Cas kissed Megatron and Bumblebee.

"I'm coming, too." They turned as Kaon joined them.

"You need someone to pilot the Novacutter. Vos and I know that ship from bow to stern." Kaon had the other mech on his back, clutching like a bundle.

"All right. Lets go, then," Ratchet said.

Kaon took the ship out gingerly and accessed the stealth modes.

Jazz had everything ready when they arrived.

He looked particularly disgusted. "The Head of the Consortia is holding the door to the Shadow Trap in his rooms, like a trophy. It's good and bad for us. If we can hack into and shut down security, it should be a cakewalk. On the other hand, if we can't, it's a minefield/

“Leave that to me.” Said Kaon.

They landed with care and slipped into the city by a complicated route through the alleys and back roads.

Swift, silent, and ever alert to the constant danger around them, they reached the Head of the Consortia's home.

Kaon hacked into the security system with ease. “And this is why I tell people, get a turbofox.” He muttered.

“You’re clear guys, go, in and out.”

The portal was attached to a frame. The important part, though, was an orb that regulated the pocket dimension. Cas pried it out while Kaon slipped up beside the sleeping Head.

He silently killed him, at long last completing the assignment. Back to the Novacutter in a spark pounding move back over their route then off for the Lost Light. Once they were en route the team relaxed. "Finally something goes in our favor," said Sideswipe.

“Yeah. Feels great.” Sunstreaker agreed. “Drinks at Swerve’s? First round is on me.”

"Lets celebrate after we've gotten Starscream out and assessed his state," Pharma said.

“Yeah.” Cas agreed. “And then I’ll take you up on that.”

Returning to the Lost Light felt like coming home.

Megatron hugged Cas as soon as he was through.

The triple purred and pressed up close against his mate.

“We couldn’t get the Shadow Trap formula, but we have the portal.” Kaon told Ratchet as Jazz stepped out of his cylinder.

“Can we still get him out?” Orion asked.

“Of course. It just means we’ll have to go in as a group.” Jazz explained. “So we can keep awareness of who and where we are.”

“How many?” Cas asked.

“It’s hard to tell.” Brainstorm took the portal ball. “I’ll have to build a frame first, do some tests.”  
“May I keep that? Just for now.” Orion looked longingly at the glass orb.

“Well… Megatron? You’re the Captain here, I guess it’s your call.”

Megatron took the orb gently. “I needn’t tell you to keep this safe.” He told the convoy. “I think you understand what would happen if it was broken.”

“I do. Nothing could be safer.”

“Even with the boys running around.”

“…”

Megatron clapped the convoy on the shoulder. “Brainstorm will guard your conjux with his life, Orion.”

“All right. Thank you, Brainstorm.”

“You’re welcome.”

Brainstorm took the orb off to his lab. He would lock it up in a safe.

Bumblebee came running and latched onto Cas’s leg. “Cawwy!”

Cas scooped him up and kissed him. “Bumblebee!”

“Hi, baby! Were you good for Creator?”

Bumblebee nodded his cute little head and cuddled close to Cas.

"That's my boy. Did you have fun with Regulus and Rigel?" He nodded. "Hide! Hide!" "You played hide and seek? Did you win?" "Uh-huh!"

Megatron smiled. “It frustrated the twins no end.”

Cas kissed his sparkling and cuddled him. "My smart mechling." Bumblebee giggled and chirped.

“Well, now that this is over. Why not a drink?” Kaon suggested. The party headed off towards Swerve’s bar.


	4. Brainstorm

Brainstorm built the portal and called those involved to explain what they needed to do.

Orion, Pharma, Jazz, and Megatron were the ones who planned to get Starscream, so they stood around as he began to explain.

"You have twenty-four klickcycles to find Deathbringer and wake him up. I don't know what you're going to find over there, so I can't offer a lot of help. We don't have any of the Shadow Trap serum, so Starscream is going to be the only mind in control of the world. You'll have to wake him from within. Do it inside the time limit or I'll be forced to pull you out, and... well, there might have been... an accident... and the orb is unstable. It can only take one round trip."

"Wake him from within?" Orion asked.

"Convince him he's in a dream world, and help him to find the way out. I'm... genuinely not sure how you should do it." Brainstorm shrugged. "But if anyone can figure it out, his conjux can, I'm sure."

"All right." "Is everything ready?" Megatron asked.

"Yep. All you have to do is step in. Time is probably going to run differently in there, but there's nothing I can do about it. I'll have a trigger line on all of you, so when the cycle is up, I'll pull you out."

They nodded and entered the portal.

They found themselves in the middle of a beautiful park, standing in front of a fountain.

They looked around then at each other.

"It's Vos... during its Golden Age." Orion breathed, staring up into the spires, seeing the Seekers flying about.

Pharma purred then turned. "Hey, do you guys hear... humming?"

"I do." Orion smiled. "Come on, let's follow it."

Pharma took the lead, gazing upon his old home in its lost glory.

It was so beautiful… Seekers flying and playing in the air above them, water running through carefully sculpted tracks… Megatron felt like he could be content there forever.

"Megatron!" "Huh?" He had stopped walking. When had he stopped? Jazz took him by the servo and drew him back to the group. "Come on, we need to stay together." They joined servos like a group of sparklings trying to keep together.

“This must be the trap part.” Orion tugged Jazz back to life after he lost himself in a flowerbed. “It makes us want to stay.”

"Seems like it." "There! The Opera House! That's where the humming is coming from! Lets hurry up and get out of this trap," said Pharma, wings rattling.

The opera house was dark and dusty. The humming came from a single Seeker, lying back in the plush seats.

"Starscream!" cried Orion and Pharma in recognition and joy.

“I don’t want to come out.” Starscream told them quietly. “So don’t try and make me.”

“What? Star, please. The boys need you, I need you," said Orion.

“It’s okay, Orion, when the boys are here, I’ll be with them. Don’t worry about it.”

Rodimus folded his arms. “That’s a sucky attitude to have.”

“It’s me.” Starscream replied, keeping his optics shut.

"Wait, could he think we're an illusion made by the trap?"

“Give the stranger a prize.” Starscream smirked. “All five of you get a participant award: Being completely ignored.”

“Starscream, I'm real. It's been fifteen vorns since you left for the mission that trapped you here. Come with us, be with me and the our sons,... meet your brother."

Swerve agreed. “They’re cute kids. You should see them, running around and finding their wings. Adorable.”

"Great, now the stupid trap is creating illusions of them," Pharma muttered. He walked up to Starscream. "Stars, get off your aft and listen to your Conjux or I'll sit on you until you listen!"

Starscream’s optics flashed open. “You know this place is a trap?”

“Yeah, and we’re here to get you out of it.”

Starscream gave them a look. “What took you so long?” He stood up. 

"I didn't know where you were," Orion said. "And I didn't even know you were missing," Pharma defended.

He hugged both. "It's okay. I'm just glad you're here. I think the dimension is growing unstable. I can feel it."

"Yeah, blame Brainstorm. Hang on." The false world faded around them to be replaced by the Lost Light. "You did it!" Brainstorm cheered.

Starscream looked around, seeming woozy, and had to grip Orion's shoulder.

"Easy, Star. You're out now." "Megatron! Pharma!" He looked to see a midnight blue offset by black Triple-Changer run to Megatron, embracing him. Something about him seemed... familiar.

He was too tired to think of this. There was a loud crack as the orb finally destabilized.

It was late, so they all headed off to rest. Starscream woke to his sons curled up to him and Orion smiling over them.

He snuggled back into the convoy and shuttered his optics. He had missed this so much.

"Time for morning energon, Starbaby, and for you to properly meet your brother. According to Pharma's message he's all nerves about meeting you."

“Cas, you mean.” Starscream sighed, frowning. “I had such a row with Carrier when I learned that he was carrying on with Sentinel.”

“Yes. I' sorry, darling, but... Nightwing is dead. The Council had him killed while trying to also kill Cas in a clinic after he was released from imprisonment and his vocalizer removed."

Starscream was silent. “The Functionists are in control then.”

"Yes. Sentinel gave Cas a picture of us and the name Deathbringer before he died, so they came looking."

“And, given that I spotted Kaon, I suppose you all found the rest of my old squad as well.”

"Yes. We have them and your ship here. Are you ready to properly meet your little brother, his mate, and their new foundling?"

Starscream sighed. “Let’s get it over with then.” He sat up and hugged his sons. 

The boys woke and hugged him back happily. "Come on, we're going to see your uncles and cousin." "Yay! You'll like them, Creator!" "Bumblebee is so little!" "Uncle Megagtron is even bigger than Carrier!" "Uncle Cas is really pretty like you!" He laughed. "Well I'll have to see for myself won't I?"

Rigel kissed his Carrier on the cheek and the two boys dragged their Creators up out of berth.

"Lets go!" Starscream let his sons drag him to the mess hall, and Pharma came to hug him. The two Seekers purred, nuzzling, then Pharma moved as Cas approached meekly.

Starscream whuffed as he took Cas in, observing him. He resembled Nightwing strongly.

Regil and Regulus hugged their uncle then scampered over the silver tank and yellow sparkling.

Starscream stood, wings twitching. “Well, it seems we’re half-brothers.”

"Yes. Carrier used to talk about you a lot. He really missed you."

“I missed him as well.” Starscream looked down at his arm, at the neat lines and the new one he had just cut into it. “But I was busy.”

"He never outright said, even when I was older, but... he thought it was because he was carrying me that you left. I think he thought that's also why you never came back."

“I left because he chose to take up with Sentinel Prime. I stayed away… because I had no choice.”

"He never went back to Creator." "I'm surprised Sentinel let him leave with you." "He didn't know about me until he died."

“… I’m sorry, Cas. I would have returned if I had known you and Carrier were in dire straits.”

"I was finally caught stealing energon, and the Council jumped at the chance to make me disappeared before Sentinel discovered me. I was imprisoned, my vocalizer removed, and I stayed that was for ten vorns. I would have died if not for Megatron stepping when I was brought the mine he was working in."

Starscream didn’t know what to say.

Cas turned. "Rigel, bring Bumblbee here." "Yes, Uncle!" The young triple was bouncing Bumblebee and carried him over, handing him to Cas. "This is Bumblbee, an orphan your boys stumbled into the other day. Megatron and I took him in."

Starscream smiled, stroking the little helm. “Hello, Bumblebee.”

“Hi!” He chirped.

“Aren’t you a sweet little one. May I, Cas?” He held out his servos.

"Want Uncle Star hold you, sweetie?" Bumblebee nodded, and snuggled into the Seeker when he cupped the baby close.

Starscream chuckled. “I miss my boys at this size.”

"No one said you and Orion can't have more, but we need to stop the Council and get the Matrix from Six of Twelve." "He has the Matrix?" Cas nodded. "He ripped it right out Creator."

“It’s a nightmare!” Starscream tossed his servo up, cradling Bumblebee with the other. “Tell me everything and leave nothing out, now.”

His baby brother began the tale, careful to censor it so Star still got the weight of it but it didn't scare Bumblebee nestled against his new-found uncle.

“We need to return to Cybertron at once! I’ve seen Six-of-Twelve’s idea of a perfect society and it isn’t anything we’d want to live in!”

"That's why we came looking for you. We need your help to do this." "Of course I'll help. Megatron approached. "That's good to hear. It's been a trip trying to find you." He smiled tenderly at Cas. "Who knew that me standing up for you that day would lead to this, my lunangel?"

Starscream took Megatron in and nodded approval. “So, you are Megatron.”

"I am. Should I be expecting threats for if I hurt Cas?" "Pharma didn't?"

"Didn't find the time," his aeriemate called from where he was playing with Regulus and Rigel.

“I think my reputation speaks for itself.”

"It does, and not to worry, I'd never hurt Cas."

“Good.” Starscream nodded. “Are we headed for Cybertron?”

“Kaon put in the coordinates last night.”

"Good.""Pway?" Bumblebee asked.

“Yes, let’s play. Is Vos here?” Starscream questioned, tossing the sparkling into the air and catching him.

"Yes, and I think he and Kaon have welded to each other."

“That’s not surprising.” Starscream chuckled. “Let’s go see them then. Vos makes wonderful toys. I’d like to see what he’s selling these days.”

"I bought a sash from him, and Pharma bought me this veil to match," Cas said, pointing the veil still secure around his neck.”

“A veil isn’t a bad idea. I’ll have to see if he has one in red or black.” Starscream agreed.

“He actually used both to get my attention," Megatron chuckled.

“That’s one thing I haven’t tried on Orion, dressing up.”

"He might like it, or you could dress him up." "Ooo. I might have to try that too.”

Orion and Megatron heated up.

The brother giggled, and Phamra came to take Bumblebee. "All right, you four, get out of here. I'll watch the little ones."

The four went to see Kaon, Vos, and Tarn. Vos was sitting on Kaon’s lap, on his tarp, with his concealing blanket pulled around both of them.

The trio happily greeted Starscream as Megatron dragged Cas off, who giggled mischeviously.

“It’s nice to see you two together again. Hello, Tarn.” Starscream crouched beside the tarp. “What do you have today, Vos?”

"Veeeeiiiiiilllllsssss."

“Just what I was looking for. Which do you think would go best with my plating?” Starscream smiled at the small mech. “And perhaps something for mechlings I haven’t seen in far too long.”

Vos showed him a black veil trimmed with silver and then a small selection of balls for sparklings to play with.

Starscream handed him a few credits and accepted both. “Thank you, Vos.”

“Weeeeeelllllllcccccoooome.”

The four mechs talked for a few moments, then Starscream stood, they said brief good-byes, and the Seeker and his mate parted from them.

Orion led the Seeker away and purred into his audials. "I need you in me, Star. It's been so long."

“I need you too.” Starscream smirked. “Now that I’ve taken care of my brothers in arms, it’s your turn.”

"Megatron had the right idea dragging Cas off." He chuckled. "Seems a liking for bigger mechs runs in the family," he purred as they reached their quarters and he pinned the convoy to the berth.

“Sometimes I wonder who’s really the bigger mech.” Orion purred, spreading his legs and curling them around Starscream.

"Dominant doesn’t always mean big, my love." He stroked his mate's panel, and Orion opened it.

“I know.” Orion kissed him as he delved into the convoy’s valve. “I’ve waited so long for this.”

"So have I, Orion." He moaned as Starscream stroked inside him, stretching him. "Ooooooh, Star."

The Seeker chuckled. “Enjoying that, Orion?”

He pulled his legs back, opening himself a little more and giving the Seeker better access. "Yes. Oh, Starbaby, please, I need you."

“I can’t refuse you, my love.” Starscream lined up with him and slid forwards into the slick, tight, heat.

The convoy moaned lowly and wrapped himself around his mate.

Starscream moved with him, pressing kisses to his faceplates and neck cables.

Orion moaned and gasped as he thrust, crying out when the Seeker began to tease his anterior node at the same time. "S-Star!"

“I love you, Orion.” Starscream picked up the pace. 

"Love you-ngh!-too! Oh!"

“Let go, I know you need this.”

He overloaded with a howl, clamping around his mate and prolonging his overload at the feeling of himself clenching around the Seeker.

Starscream would have laughed, if he could think. People called him the loud one.

He pushed completely into his mate and reached his own overload. Orion gave a soft moan as his tank filled, sighing in contentment.

Starscream smirked. “Don’t get too cozy yet. I’m not done with you.”

THe convoy pulled him and kissed him, rolling his hips.

Starscream sighed and kissed him. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Cas whispered to Megatron, sprawled across his chest.

The tank stroked his mate's wing as Cas lay there, spent but still on his spike, neither having the energy to move yet. The triple purred, feeling wonderfully stretched and full.

“Well, is he what you thought he’d be?” Megatron asked Cas as he lay there, purring.

"I don't really know what I thought he'd be, but I like him so far. I hope he and I can become closer, though... I understand if not. I'm the product of a relationship he despised."

“I think he’ll get over that. He doesn’t seem the type of mech to hold your parents against you.”

"I hope not. I hope we can end this soon."

“As do I. I love Bumblebee, but I want sparklings of our own as well. I can’t resist the idea of a Megatron Jr.”

“We are not naming a sparkling that!”

“Awww… Cas! There can be a Cas Jr. too…”

"No, Megatron! Proper names. They're not miniatures of us, they'll be their own bots."

Megatron gave him an exaggerated pout.

“I've always liked Eclipse," his little mate put out.

“That would be a beautiful name.” Megatron agreed.

Cas carefully eased up off the tank then settled beside him. "We're almost there, Megatron. Soon we'll put an end to the Council, I hope." "Cas, are you sure you want to fight?" "Yes. They killed my Carrier and Creator, I owe them a similar treatment.”

“My vicious little sweet.” Megatron kissed him.


	5. Starscream

Deathbringer was going to strike down Six-of-Twelve, the most dangerous member, and in the chaos the Resistance would take the rest of them.

Cas at first resisted, stating he should at least have a shot or be given the final blow on his Creator's killer.

Starscream, though, was adamant. "Cas, Six-of-Twelve is tricky and difficult to kill. I should know: His was the only mission I ever refused. I'll strike him down for you, and your Creators will be at peace."

His little brother was angry, and he could understand why, but Six would killed Cas if he got the chance. He couldn't let that happen. Over the past few cycles he had grown to love his baby brother.

He would protect him as he would protect his family: With his very spark, if necessary.

Cas fumed at first at being denied his revenge, but eventually he relented, though he would not let them keep him from fighting at all, though Megatron tried.

At last, they arrived on Cybertron and found the planet... so much worse off.

Rage swept through them and the battle groups were formed right away. They weren't going to waste any time. They had none to waste.

Starscream found a sniper spot with a view of the Council Room. Vos and Kaon infiltrated the cleaning crew and found a way in for the others.

Chaos ignited with surprise on their side, even if for a moment.

As soon as Six-of-Twelve crossed his scope, Starscream fired.

He moved just in time so it wasn't a fatal shot. The Seeker cursed as he went for Cas, the mech he saw an an abomination for carrying the blood of a Prime and a Seeker together. Cas hissed at him, afraid but standing firm in a show of courage.

The Matrix suddenly glowed white hot and Six-of-Twelve shrieked as it began to melt him slowly.

The fighters stared in shock, and the Matrix tore free of the Council member, and streaked right to Cas.

Cas held out his servos and it laid in them like a kitten, seeming to sing and resonate with power.

He stared at it. The Matrix of Power... has chosen him!

He held it to his breast and his chestplate opened. The Matrix snuggled close to his spark.

Everyone stared in shock. In all recorded history there had never been a flyer Prime, and this flew in the face of all the Council believed.

Cas stared about as, with a wave of motion, all knees bowed before the new Prime.

After a moment he approached Six of Twelve and grabbed him by the throat, the mech still alive, if only just.

"You killed my Creators." He hissed to the dying mech. "You are below contempt."

"And you are below a quick death." He dropped him and turned the surviving Council members.

They had their helms down. "You will be sentenced according to your offense: Hard labor, for the rest of your lives, on the same rations that you expected the working populace to fuel on."

"You sought to grind us under your pedes. Now you will know how those like me suffered. You way of thinking is done. No frame type shall be above another."

They did not protest as the Guard led them away. With a new Prime, their loyalties had shifted.

Cas went to Megatron at once and nuzzled his mate.

Megatron dipped him, kissing him. “We won!”

"Whoa!" he yelped then giggled. Starscream came to join them, and Cas chirped to his brother.

Starscream kissed his helm. “Rule well.”

“Are you leaving?”

“Orion and I are going back to Anno to see if there’s anything left there. Then, we’ll come back. You’ll need an assassin.”

“You seriously want to go back into that line of work?" he asked his brother.

“There are always enemies.” Starscream sighed. “Though I think I will take a good, long break as soon as you’re settled.”

"Then let another be trained to take over so you can live life with your family, Star."

Starscream chuckled. “We’ll discuss this later. Come on, let’s let someone clean this mess up.”

Cybertron was rocked with the news of both the downfall of the Council and the rise of a flyer Prime.

The common people rejoiced, the nobles shook, but there wasn’t a spark untouched by the news. 

The caste system was demolished, and the new laws of equal frames were fiercely enforced.

Starscream helped Cas for a few vorns while he settled in. Then, he went into a semi-retirement with his family, and they announced their new sparklings soon after.

Pharma and Tarn were now courting, and Cas and Megatron waited for the hype over Starscream and Orion's new little ones to announce that Cas was expecting their own, wanting to wait to let their brothers get the happiness and attention their news deserved.

Kaon and Vos went back to their spot in the circus of the spaceport, selling their wares and sitting, curled together in Vos’s blanket. 

Thanks to Cas's reign it was much safer now, and they were able to enjoy life. The sparklings arrived close to one another, Orion bearing a single grounder Carrier mech, and Cas bore twins, a tank Carrier mech and a Triple-Chancer Sire mech.

Both proud sets of parents cooed and praised each other’s as they snuggled their own. Rigel and Regulus were quite pleased to be cousins as well as older brothers.

Cas named the tank Eclipse, and Megatron happily named the triple Cloudstreaker.

Starscream and Orion settled on Betelgeuse for their sparkling.

The family settled in, happy and at peace at long last.


End file.
